William Robert "Slick" Leonard is a former professional basketball player and coach. A 6'3" 185 lb guard, Leonard played high school basketball at Terre Haute Gerstmeyer High School, where he excelled as a tennis player, as well. He played collegiate basketball at Indiana University, where he hit the game winning free throws to give Indiana the 1953 NCAA championship. While at Indiana, he became a member of Delta Tau Delta International Fraternity.
He was selected with the first pick of the second round of the 1954 NBA Draft. He spent most of his seven-year professional playing career with the Lakers, followed by two years with the Chicago Packers/Zephyrs. In his final season as a player, he also coached the Zephyrs. The next year, the team moved to Baltimore; Leonard coached them for one more year.
In 1968, Leonard became the coach of the American Basketball Association's Indiana Pacers, a position he held for nearly 12 years ? the last four after the franchise moved to the NBA. For a time, he also served as general manager. Leonard led the Pacers to three ABA championships before the ABA-NBA merger in June 1976.